[pct-l] North Cascades Alternate Route

[Kit Ravensong]

The Stehekin River is large. You need to hike to the bridge across it unless you can hitch a ride on someone's boat to Stehekin from the park service boat dock near where the Devore Creek trail comes out on Lake Chelan.

Harlequin Campground is at the Stehekin River bridge you come to on the alternate. It has a large group site, good for PCTers. The shuttle to Stehekin stops by the bridge. The bakery is a short walk from the campground.

Heading northbound from the bridge you can hike 1/2 mile up the road and head up the trail over McAlester Pass and rejoin the PCT near highway 20. 
Look at the zig zag across the Stehekin River on the Fire Closure Detour Route. Just to the left up the road at the top of the zig zag is a trail up Rainbow creek. This goes up to a junction. You can go left to Rainbow Lake and rejoin the PCT 1/2 way up Bridge Creek or you can go right over McAlester Pass and rejoin the PCT at the northern end of the Bridge creek just before the junction with highway 20 and Rainy Pass.

Its far more scenic to take a trail north from Stehekin and you don't need to do the long road walk. The trails in the North Cascades National Park are well maintained. You do need to get a NCNP camping permit if you plan to camp between Stehekin and Highway 20.

Get there before the snow flies this fall. Sometimes we get snow at the higher elevations in August, but it typically is melted away in a couple days. I aim to get to Canada by the middle to the end of September.

Happy Trails... don't forget to touch the glacier at Upper Lyman Lake on the alternate. Tread lightly up there so we will be welcomed in the future in this awesome country.

Ravensong